ABSTRACT
Regionalism: a worldwide phenomenon. Regional projects have developed with various aims and taken different forms. Defining and comparing regions are therefore not simple tasks. This chapter is organised in three sections. First, it emphasises three essential and interrelated challenges to comparative research in regionalism that relate to the conceptualisation, the theorisation and the methodology. The approach aims to address these issues with a view to providing stronger bases to comparative analyses of regional integration. Secondly, the chapter presents the European Union’s case of regional integration and the theoretical and conceptual bias towards the European enterprise. It suggests developing innovative theories to compare regions, based on increased interactions among the different conceptions worldwide. Thirdly, the chapter concludes by underlying four global trends that are likely to affect the future of regionalism: globalisation, fragmentation, economic integration, and security challenges.
